6533b7d3fe1ef96bd1261226

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Romantic relationships in intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic adolescent couples in Germany: The role of attachment to parents, self-esteem, and conflict resolution skills

subject

description

We investigated romantic relationships in a sample of 380 adolescents who formed 190 heterosexual couples (mean age: females 17 years; males 18 years): 173 intra-ethnic (German) couples and 17 inter-ethnic couples. Factor analyses revealed two types of love experiences: (a) experiences of attraction and a passionate focus on the partner (passionate love) and (b) experiences of affiliation (companionate love). No differences were found between intra-ethnic and inter-ethnic couples in romantic experiences, self-esteem, and conflict resolution skills. Adolescents in intra-ethnic couples had more close relations with parents than adolescents in inter-ethnic couples. Actor—Partner Interdependence Models (APIMs) showed that companionate love was indirectly predicted by the quality of attachment towards parents; this relationship was mediated by self-esteem and conflict resolution skills. Whereas the quality of girlfriends’ attachment to the father (not to the mother) predicted conflict resolution skills in romantic relationships, boyfriends’ conflict resolution skills were predicted by the quality of attachment to the mother (not to the father). Furthermore, cross-partner effects were observed: girlfriends’ experiences of companionate love were not only predicted by attachment to their own mother, but also by the relation between their boyfriend and his mother.